Friends of Israeli Ambassador Dana Kursh in the Philippines received a box of organic food products as a Christmas gift in December. The bottles of Sindyanna of Galilee olive oil, honey and bread spread represent more than a taste of Israel and friendship from its people. A brochure that come’s with the gift pack titled “How Can Olive Oil Create Hope” shares the deeper meaning of the products.

“In my diplomatic work, I often share these products in Sindyanna’s eco-friendly bag that reads ‘Hope Inside.’ That message resonates across communities and reflects the organization’s authenticity and resilience,” says the ambassador, referring to Sindyanna of Galilee.

“Through organic olive oil, honey, and traditional Galilee products, they tell a story of women’s empowerment, coexistence and sustainable agriculture — values shared by Israel and the Philippines alike,” explains the ambassador.

“Sindyanna of Galilee represents a deeply rooted part of Israeli civil society. It is a women-led organization founded over 25 years ago by Arab and Jewish women in the Galilee. I grew up in the Lower Galilee, about 15 minutes from Nazareth, and today Sindyanna is led by a Muslim Israeli woman from a village just 1.5 kilometers from my home. This reflects coexistence not as a slogan, but as a daily reality,” she adds.

Members of the organization are Israeli citizens, Jewish and Muslims working together as equals, according to Kursh.

While aware of a war going on in southern Israel, they also choose partnership and shared responsibility through daily cooperation in agriculture and sustainable development

“Even amid conflict, coexistence is not a slogan but a daily choice — and Sindyanna is living proof that partnership is stronger than division,” she says.

Profit for the community

There is another facet of Sindyanna of Galilee. The cooperative buys produce from Arab farmers, processes and markets it under a shared brand, and channels profits back into education and community projects for Arab women in northern Israel.

For many women in villages such as Kufr Kanna, a job at Sindyanna is their first source of independent income, helping them support university fees for children or contribute reliably to household budgets. Economic security, in turn, gives them greater confidence and a stronger voice at home and in their communities, reinforcing the idea that women’s work can be both respectable and transformative.

Diverse products

Sindyanna has become Israel’s only certified fair‑trade olive‑oil producer working within the Arab community, and olive oil remains its flagship product. The women oversee everything from cultivating organic groves on reclaimed land to bottling award‑winning extra‑virgin oils and specialty blends that are exported to markets in Europe, North America and Asia.

​Alongside olive oil, the cooperative produces a range of premium foods and crafts: za’atar spice mixes, carob syrup, raw and roasted almonds, honey, olive‑oil soaps, and traditional woven baskets and handicrafts made by women in Galilee and the West Bank. These products showcase local agricultural heritage while providing diverse income streams — some can even be produced from home, allowing mothers with young children to participate in the economy without leaving their villages.

Work at Sindyanna’s visitor center and packing facility in Kufr Kanna brings Arab and Jewish women together in shared teams, where they manage production, run tastings and welcome tour groups side by side. Daily cooperation — coordinating shipments, solving logistics problems, and hosting guests in multiple languages — creates trust that goes beyond politics and helps normalize partnership across community lines.

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Business for peace

Sindyanna describes its approach as “business for peace,” linking sustainable agriculture, fair trade, and women’s employment to long‑term coexistence. By turning abandoned or contested land into productive olive groves and channeling profits back into Arab women’s education and training, the cooperative offers a practical alternative to zero‑sum narratives about land, identity, and opportunity.

​The women workers, in effect, become informal ambassadors: every bottle of olive oil or packet of za’atar they label carries a story of collaboration between communities that rarely meet as equals. 

In a region where headlines often focus on division, the everyday routines inside Sindyanna’s groves and workshops show how shared work, fair pay and mutual respect can slowly cultivate a more peaceful future.